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BSA - British Airways Baggage Policy |
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As the governing body for surfing in this country the BSA have stated that they are extremely shocked to hear about British Airways’ new policy on baggage and their statement that after the 6th November they will no longer carry surfboards.
BRITISH SURFING ASSOCIATION STATEMENT ON BA POLICY
In their own words BA is the company that promotes itself as the UK’s largest international scheduled airline and ‘takes pride in providing a full service experience.’ Hundreds of airlines across the world manage to carry surfboards every day so why BA suddenly finds itself in a situation where it thinks these boards are too difficult to handle is inexplicable.
At the BSA we have over 10,000 members across the country and hundreds of them have contacted us today about this new decision, expressing their disbelief and anger at what they see as a marginalisation of the sport and everyone within the surfing community.
Surfing is one of the fastest growing mainstream sports in this country with tens of thousands of people taking to the waves for the first time every year, then continuing to develop and hone their skills in a whole range of surf destinations. International surf travel companies are expanding every day as British people look to pursue their new found passion abroad, particularly in the winter months and BA has recently reopened its route from Gatwick to Newquay, no doubt keen to capitalise on the growing number of British people heading for the surf.
As the national governing body, we arrange the international travel for the British Surfing Teams each year and almost without fail we have chosen to fly with BA in the past, mostly as a result of their generally fair baggage policy. We therefore feel completely let down and angered by the news that our national airline is banning surfboards rather than following some other airlines and charging a supplementary fee.
Although every surfboard, piece of sporting equipment and musical instrument is different in shape and size, we’d find it extremely hard to believe that the average mini mal would be more difficult to handle when compared to a double bass and a full bag of golf clubs. Most people would fit into a double bass case and a full set of golf clubs would certainly weigh more than your average surfboard so how BA can justify these ridiculous statements is beyond us.
We can only imagine that many more of BA’s frequent flyer executive club members are golfers or musicians than surfers and that the decision to ban surfboards is a commercial one made on this basis. Either way, we find it alarming and would be keen to stress to other airlines that this is a move that is in no way satisfactory.
We’re currently considering the action that we’re going to take but we will be contacting BA directly on behalf of our members and offering those members an opportunity to contribute their thoughts and comments to an uprising debate that is certain to rage.
Karen Walton, National Director, British Surfing Association
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